Corona: How do citizens feel about compulsory vaccination? Survey speaks for itself

The RKI reports a new high for the seven-day incidence in Germany on Tuesday. Karlsruhe confirms the ban on “corona walks”. All news in the ticker.

Update from February 1, 10:20 p.m .: With regard to the omicron subtype BA.2, the virologist Christian Drosten stated that this could have an even higher transferability than the subtype BA.1, which is currently dominant in Germany. Looking at the numbers and the first publications from Denmark, the 49-year-old stated: “The engine has a few more horsepower.” Drosten therefore expects the subtype to spread further in Germany, albeit much more slowly due to the measures currently in force. Meanwhile, the Easter holidays could bring hope with a view to the Corona situation in Germany.

Corona virus: A clear majority of the population is in favor of general compulsory vaccination

Update from February 1, 3:36 p.m .: 66 percent of Germans are currently in favor of introducing a general obligation to vaccinate all adults over the age of 18. According to a current forsa survey commissioned by RTL and ntv, 29 percent are against a general obligation to vaccinate.

The proposal to introduce a general obligation to vaccinate only for people over the age of 50, on the other hand, only finds support from a minority (36 percent). 58 percent are against such a solution.

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Kretschmann (Greens) does not want to talk about loosening the corona before Easter

Update from February 1, 1 p.m.: Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) sees no chance of the end of corona restrictions at least until mid-April. He does not see a debate about exit strategies before Easter, said the head of government on Tuesday in Stuttgart.

Update from February 1st, 9 a.m.: Tens of thousands of people across Germany demonstrated again against the current corona measures. There were also counter-demonstrations in some cities on Monday evening. According to the police on Tuesday morning, most of the meetings were peaceful, but not everyone was peaceful: A 26-year-old suffered serious head injuries in Regensburg, the police said. Paramedics then took him to a hospital. In addition, two groups clashed on the sidelines of a meeting, and several people were injured. Further details were initially unclear. A 23-year-old reportedly injured a police officer with kicks and punches.

About 9,000 people came to meetings and protests in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the police said. In Rostock, the regulatory authority had banned several protests, but groups still moved through the city center. According to the information, firecrackers were thrown, the officials had to intervene several times. Several people were taken into custody. According to the police, officials in Grimmen were thrown at and insulted with eggs from an apartment.

Around 25,000 people demonstrated against the measures in Thuringia. 25 people were reported, among other things, for violating the Assembly Act and resisting law enforcement officers. In Jena, a critic of the measures was also injured by a counter-demonstrator, the police said.

On Monday evening, around 200 people gathered in Ostfildern for a registered meeting to demonstrate against corona measures. According to police, the demonstration was peaceful. Before that, however, an announcement by the mayor of Ostfildern had triggered a wave of protests on social media. In certain chat groups it was even said that there were “orders to shoot” at the demonstrators. Mayor Christof Bolay (SPD) and the Reutlingen police vehemently contradicted this presentation on Monday. “The use of firearms to enforce a ban on assembly is excluded,” said a joint statement.

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Corona: RKI reports incidence record again – are the numbers actually much higher?

Update from February 1, 6:15 a.m .: The upward trend in the corona pandemic in Germany continues: On Tuesday, the nationwide 7-day incidence reported by the Robert Koch Institute exceeded the threshold of 1200 for the first time. The RKI gave the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week on Tuesday morning as 1206.2. For comparison: the day before the value was 1176.8. A week ago, the nationwide incidence was 894.3 (previous month: 220.3).

And the number of new infections is also steadily increasing compared to the previous week. The health authorities in Germany reported 162,613 new corona infections to the RKI within one day. A week ago there were 126,955 infections. Experts assume that there will be a high and increasing number of cases that are not recorded in the RKI data, partly because testing capacities and health authorities are at their limits in many places. In addition, some cities and districts have been reporting problems with the transmission of the number of corona cases for days.

According to the new information, 188 deaths were recorded across Germany within 24 hours. A week ago there were 214 deaths. The number of patients infected with corona who came to clinics per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days was 4.64 on Monday (Friday 4.72). These may also include people with a positive corona test who have another main illness.

Corona in Germany: Federal Constitutional Court on “Corona walks”

Update from January 31, 9:05 p.m .: The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe refused on Monday to override the municipal ban on so-called “corona walks”. The background to the procedure was that cities in Baden-Württemberg had issued bans against unregistered “corona walks”. From the point of view of the cities, the “walks” are legally meetings.

On Monday, the court rejected the urgent application of a man who wanted to overturn the general decree of the city of Freiburg. However, the judges responsible left the question open as to whether a precautionary ban on assembly can be compatible with the meaning and scope of the constitutionally protected freedom of assembly. The clarification is reserved for the main proceedings, it said in the decision, which was published in the afternoon, as reported by the German Press Agency (Az. 1 BvR 208/22).

Traveling within the EU without a booster vaccination will be more difficult from February 1st

From February 1st, the EU vaccination certificates are only valid for around nine months (270 days) without a booster vaccination. After this period, people without this additional protection will be treated as unvaccinated when crossing borders, which, depending on the travel destination, requires quarantine or proof of a corona test.

Within the individual EU countries, the rules regarding the validity of vaccination certificates – for example for restaurant visits – differ: In Germany, for example, there is currently no time limit. In Austria, on the other hand, the vaccination certificate for the basic immunization is only valid for 180 days from February 1st, with a basic immunization plus booster vaccination for 270 days.

The majority of people in Germany fear new corona waves before the population is fully vaccinated

Update from January 31, 4:43 p.m .: The majority of Germans (55 percent) fear that new corona waves will follow until the population is fully vaccinated. This was the result of a survey by the insurance company R+V. A total of 1,083 citizens were interviewed online for the representative survey. A year ago, in a survey, the majority of Germans expressed fear that the pandemic would not end without vaccination. At that time, almost 60 percent feared that there would be lockdowns again and again as a consequence.

Expert: Omicron subtype BA.2 could lengthen omicron wave

Update from January 31, 3:34 p.m .: The immunologist Carsten Watzl suspects that the even more easily transmissible omicron subvariant BA.2 has an effect on the current wave of infections in Germany. “BA.2. will also prevail with us and could extend the omicron wave,” writes immunologist Watzl on Twitter. In his tweet, the Secretary General of the German Society for Immunology refers to a published preprint study from Denmark, which has yet to be reviewed by independent experts.

According to the data from Denmark, the risk of infection for BA.2 has doubled compared to BA.1. This applies within the group of unvaccinated people, as well as for people with full immune protection and those who have been boosted. In terms of transmissibility, the omicron subtype BA.2 shows an increased pattern in the unvaccinated, but not in the vaccinated and boosted, according to the study. According to the researchers, vaccinations showed an effect against infections, transmissibility and severe disease even with an increased occurrence of BA.2, albeit reduced compared to previous variants. In Denmark (vaccination rate over 80 percent), the proportion of Omikron BA.2 cases of infection had recently increased significantly. In Germany, the proportion of BA.2 at 2.3 percent is “still very low” can be read in the current weekly report of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). In the previous week, the proportion was 1.4 percent.

Number of Covid intensive care patients in Germany at almost 2,300

Update from January 31, 2:39 p.m .: 2,261 Covid 19 patients are currently being treated in the intensive care units in Germany. Of these, 1,194 must be artificially ventilated. This emerges from the data of the DIVI intensive care register (as of January 31, 2:05 p.m.).

The federal government is currently rejecting any easing

Update from January 31, 12:48 p.m .: The federal government currently sees no reason to relax the corona measures. “The moment we have the feeling that we can relax responsibly, this federal government, all state governments will take exactly this step,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit on Monday in Berlin. At the moment, however, it is “still a bit premature” to take this step. One is still in the phase in which things are going uphill with the numbers, every day there are new record values. The peak of the wave has not yet been reached. “And in that respect I would warn at the moment against believing too early that it’s already over,” said Hebestreit.

Government vaccination target clearly missed

Update from January 31, 10:24 a.m .: A corona vaccination rate of 80 percent by the end of January is out of reach. In Germany, 74 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. About 63,000 doses of vaccine were administered on Sunday, including 40,000 for boosters. That emerges from the data of the vaccination dashboard on Monday (January 31). 20.2 million people in Germany are still not vaccinated against Corona. There is no approved vaccine available for four million people between the ages of zero and four.

The federal government originally wanted to reach the rate of 80 percent at the end of last year. The goal was then postponed to the end of January – even now it is not being achieved.

Corona: Vaccination rate in the countries very different

The vaccination rates of the federal states continue to differ significantly. In Bremen, for example, 86.7 percent of the residents are fully vaccinated, in Saxony only 62.7 percent. In Saarland, 60.8 percent of people are already boosted, in Saxony only 42.4 percent.

The actual vaccination rates in Germany could be higher than the official data shows. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), “one hundred percent coverage cannot be achieved by the reporting system”. The RKI therefore assumes “that the actual vaccination rate is up to five percentage points higher” than stated in the official announcements.

Incidence in Germany reaches a new high – number of deaths increases significantly

First report from January 31, 2022

Munich – The nationwide seven-day incidence has risen to a new high. The Robert Koch Institute* (RKI) gave the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week on Monday morning as 1176.8. The previous day the value was 1156.8, a week ago it was 840.3, in the previous month it was 265.8.

Over 78,000 new corona infections in Germany

The health authorities in Germany reported 78,318 new corona infections to the RKI within one day. This is evident from numbers that reflect the status of the RKI dashboard at 5:03 a.m. A week ago there were 63,393 infections.

However, experts assume that there will be a high and increasing number of cases that are not recorded in the RKI data, partly because test capacities and health authorities are at their limits in many places. In addition, some cities and districts have been reporting problems with the transmission of the number of corona cases for days.

Corona in Germany – significantly more deaths than in the previous week

In Germany there were 61 deaths within one day. A week ago there were 28 deaths. The RKI has counted 9,815,533 proven infections with Sars-CoV-2 since the beginning of the pandemic. The actual total number is likely to be significantly higher, as many infections go undetected.

The number of corona-infected patients who came to clinics per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days was 4.72 (Thursday 4.64) according to the RKI. These may also include people with a positive corona test who have another main illness. The RKI gave the number of recovered people on Monday as 7,622,400. The number of people who died from or involved a proven infection with Sars-CoV-2 rose to 117,786. (kam/dpa) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

Headline list image: © Axel Bueckert / Imago